Small Business & Entrepreneur Services

Brooklyn Public Library is a hub for aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners.

One-on-One Business Counseling

Pace University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is offering weekly, free, in-person one-to-one business advisement by appointment every Thursday at Brooklyn Public Library’s Business & Career Center! Get help on access to financing, marketing and sales strategies, government procurement, and business planning. These Business Advisement sessions are available to existing small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs. To see a schedule of upcoming sessions, visit: bit.ly/BPLSBDC. To contact Pace SBDC, call 212.618.6655 or email sbdc@pace.edu

• To make an appointment for a free one-to-one session, sign up and complete the online counseling request using the new SBDC eCenter system, NYSBDC eCenter Direct.
  • You will be prompted to create an account user name and password in order to complete your counseling request.
  • In the “Area of Assistance” section please indicate that you would like to schedule an in-person session at the Brooklyn Public Library, the date you are requesting, and what you would like assistance with.
  • After your account is created and counseling request submitted, an SBDC counselor will be in touch to confirm your appointment date and time.

City Bar Justice Center’s Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Project (NELP) partners with the Brooklyn Public Library Business & Career Center and the Pace SBDC to offer virtual small business legal clinics. These clinics, conducted by NELP, are an opportunity for entrepreneurs to meet with a team of pro bono attorneys to discuss legal issues related to their small businesses, such as intellectual property rights, contracts/agreements, business structure and incorporation, commercial leasing and more. Click here for future clinic dates and programming. To contact the Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Project, call 212.382.6633 or email nelp@nycbar.org 

Subject Guides and Resources

• Useful Subject Guides on the resources you need to be a successful entrepreneur, created by our business librarians. See the "Subject Guides" box on the right side of this page to see our most up to date Subject Guides.
• Online databases with authoritative information about your industry, competitors, and target customers.
• Subscriptions to the leading trade magazines and business newspapers in print and online.

Events and Classes

• Expert led events and classes on all aspects of starting, running, and growing your business.
• Librarian led events on how to utilize all of the library’s business resources and where to look for additional help.
• Go to our Events Calendar to see all of our upcoming business events and classes.
• Additional free small business courses are available from the NYC Business Solutions Brooklyn Center: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/nyc-business-solutions-brooklyn-center-259219

PowerUP Business Plan Competition

• Annual business plan competition for Brooklyn entrepreneurs that awards finalists with seed capital and feedback from our qualified judges.
• Competition includes free workshops on:
  • Writing your business plan.
  • Implementing marketing strategies
  • Determining financial projections.
  • Researching your customers, competitors and market.
• Go to our PowerUP page for more information.